With the G80-derived graphics processor, the new Quadro FX 4600 and Quadro FX 5600 have 128-unified shader units. The new Quadros are also compatible with CUDA technology too, NVIDIA’s answer to AMD’s Stream Computing technology. DirectX 10 compliance and support for shader model 4.0 are also feats of the new Quadros.

Differentiating the Quadro FX 4600 and Quadro FX 5600 is the amount of memory. The lower Quadro FX 4600 features 768MB of video memory – similar to NVIDIA’s GeForce 8800GTX. A whopping 1.5 GB of video memory is available on the Quadro FX 5600; besting ATI’s 1GB of graphics memory endowed FireGL V7350. Both Quadros have 384-bit memory interfaces though.

Although NVIDIA announced the Quadro Plex VCS Model IV at the same time as the Quadro FX 4600 and Quadro FX 5600, there are no details of the Quadro Plex VCS Model IV in the press release or Quadro Plex VCS product pages. However, expect the Quadro Plex VCS Model IV to feature the new Quadro FX 4600 or Quadro FX 5600 graphics processors.

NVIDIA prices the new Quadro FX 4600 at $1995 and the Quadro FX 5600 at $2999.

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